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Denture Apprehension

Posted Nov 18 2008 6:02am

If you feel apprehensive about seeking dental care, particularly getting dentures, don’t consider yourself alone with these feelings. The fact is most individuals experience apprehension when dentures are advised. The reason — there are many unsubstantiated fears about dentures. However, once you realize the truth, you will acknowledge that most of these notions are highly misplaced. The following are some of the most common misconceptions about wearing dentures and the related facts that will alleviate all your anxieties:

It Is Difficult To Adapt To Dentures

This perception is highly misplaced, since dentures are an exact replacement for your natural dental structures. Yes, it may take a few days to get used to the feeling of having something in your mouth, since the facial muscles take time to adjust to the increase in facial volume. However, there isn’t any considerable discomfort due to this break-in period. Contemporary dentures are designed in such a manner that they induce negligible irritability and cause no soreness.

Eating food with dentures might take some time to get comfortable, still, this period doesn’t hamper your eating preferences or chewing habits. Even among the most sensitive of individuals, the only known caution is to consume softer food for a few days before shifting to a normal diet. Besides this, some basic precautions, like avoiding the use of sharp objects to eat your food, need to be taken.

Dentures Damage Your Vocal Skills

This is an unnecessarily-highlighted aspect about wearing dentures. There is absolutely no loss of vocal ability due to wearing dentures. Most probably, this idea gained ground with the kind of hard dentures that were used a few decades back. However, modern-day dentures cause no detrimental effect to the way you speak. Yes, pronouncing a few words, among selected individuals, may need some extra effort. However, this too cannot be generalized for all denture-wearers. The only aspect of concern is regarding your own sense of responsibility. If your dentures impede your speech in any perceivable way, simply ask your dentist to make the necessary adjustments before any permanent damage can happen.

Dentures Dampen Your Appearance

This is the most common form of fear related to dentures. However, most people don’t realize that dentures are precisely-designed structures. In fact, creating dentures can be understood parallel to a multi-faceted engineering process, which ensures that dentures resemble the shape/structure of your natural teeth. Thus, there is never a scope for any remarkable changes in your appearance when you wear dentures. Yes, the minor alteration that is induced is of the positive kind — your jaw line, the overall facial configuration and particularly your smile are bound to improve.

Dentures Are Worn 24×7

No, this is not a necessity, nor a rule — it is entirely dependent on the decision made by a dental health expert, i.e. dentists or prosthodontists. During the initial period, dentists usually set-up a comfortable schedule for you to wear your dentures. This is entirely based on your level of convenience. It is easy to remove and insert dentures and hence, taking them out and wearing them again is just a small part of gaining the habit of wearing them for substantial periods of time. In most cases, dentures may be removed for short periods, particularly during bedtime. This gives your jaw muscles time to relax and further strengthen themselves.